Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Meat Jelly, Brawn, Sulc, or good o'l Head Cheese--take a gander

Warning: this isn't for the feint of heart. It tastes great, but if you get squeamish you've been warned. For those of you who dig eating odd things, you will like it.

Step 1. Shoot it. Next time not in the base of the skull.



Step 2. Bring it home



Step 3. Skin it.



Step 4. Leave it out as a joke to your pregnant wife about having dinner ready.



Step 5. Season it up and put in big pot.



Step 6. Cover in liquid and simmer.



Step 7. After meat falls off bone, regret shooting it in the head.

[img]http://i1208.photobucket.com/albums/cc371/Scopolamine1/096_zpscff42c07.jpg[/img]
Step 8. Layer meat, veggies, and meat. Pour stock and gelatin over, refrigerate.

[img]http://i1208.photobucket.com/albums/cc371/Scopolamine1/104_zps45bc44aa.jpg[/img]

Step 9. Cut up and serve with crackers, beer, and football.

[img]http://i1208.photobucket.com/albums/cc371/Scopolamine1/headcheese2_zpsb60995de.jpg[/img]

If you dig the wobbly bits and want to make this, click right here .

Andy, I used your method of transportation but just took him to the gut pile.

I've head cheese once and that was enough.

Looks fabulous. I prefer the German variation called souse; it has a bit of a vinegar tang to it. I just finished a pound of it, mostly as sandwiches on pumpernickel bread with German mustard, and a thin slice of sweet onion. Daaayyyyuum that's good.

Interesting but I'd have to pass if that was served to me.

Hope you enjoy.

Mom made some when I was a kid but she used half of hogs head. She and dad liked it but I couldn't handle it.
Was way too spicy for me (at the time) but most of all I really didn't care for the weird texture of semi-solidified jell mixed in with meat.
I do remember thinking the hogs head sawed in half was pretty cool, though.

Grew up eating things like head cheese. Miss that stuff.

Great Post.

I'd try it if you cooked it, but I doubt I could sneak that inside the house without dire consequences...

Great on saltines. Did your boys help with that one, Andy ?

I've never been THAT hungry, yet. Cool post though.

Did you include the Brains as well?

That's where I draw the line, not going to partake of the nervous system...

A couple notes:
1) "head cheese" has to be the worst named food ever.

2) At no time during the process did anything stink. Don't confuse boiling a deer skull with fur still on with the smell of cooking a skinned head. With the carrots, onions, and celery it smelled like a stew being made.

3) I promise it tastes good. If you can eat a hot dog weenie, you would like this which is 1000 times better. I'll admit, some stuff like menudo, has an off flavor that you have to grow up with. This recipe has nothing but the flavor of meat and spices

4) Brains- yes, but you don't have to. I didn't include eyeballs. Part of the reason for including the brains was because we couldn't taste the difference between brains and cheek meat. Texture difference, but they just tasted like meat.

This was my first time cooking a head. I couldn't believe how much meat came off this 130 pound pig's noggin.

Next project is scrapple...

My granny used to make it, brains and all. She'd ask for the head of any thing we slaughtered.

Tried it once, that was once too many.

Excellent, Mum used to make it when I was a kid, but it didn't do much for me at the time. Now, I buy it from delis

I'm going have to give that a go.

There's a CW song or a T shirt in there somewhere.

that is good stuff too!

Im having a scrapple party the Sunday after Christmas. We make deer scrapple several times a year up here, normally 150-200lbs per pot. It takes all day, sun up to sun down.

Step one is kill a bunch of deer.

Step two is save all of the hearts, rib cages, pelvises, spine sections, and any other bones that have meat that is hard to get off.

Gather needed flours, spices, etc.

Buy 6-10 cases of beer.

Invite friends.

Start fire and fun shall commence.

Best part is when that scrapple is done and still hot/molten, take some tortilla scoops and dig in!!!!!

We have a BIG pot, I could use it as a hot tub!

They were a bit noncommittal...until I gave them the teeth. Then they sampled brain on corn chips.

Dand wish you were a bit closer! First time I had scrapple was in eastern PA

We've made it before, some years ago, when I was a kid. Actually I guess thats a lot of years ago. Along with blood sausage too.

Never really cared for either. Both were ok, but for some reason the flavors, which are really mild, just never appealed to me. And I like weird things...

Nice job!

Jeff